


Sights

by Lilly_Bei_Stark



Category: Hellboy - All Media Types
Genre: John became badass, M/M, Smut, Sniper!John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-15 04:03:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4592214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilly_Bei_Stark/pseuds/Lilly_Bei_Stark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just another mission for the BPRD...until it becomes more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sights

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi all! Another Hellboy/John Myers for ya! Written after the first movie. Golden Army doesn't exist in my world. Same old notes for ya. Let me say up front, I did some research on the 75th Ranger Regiment for this story. I know that I will be supplementing some gaps of John's past with mission details that didn't necessarily happen. Forgive me for taking artistic liberty. I just went to research military tours and how old John would be if he had been in the army before going to Quantico and my little research itch kicked in. I might have gone a little overboard making John a badass in this. Oh well.  
> Warnings: Graphic Violence, M/M, Swearing  
> Disclaimers: I don't own Hellboy, otherwise John and HB would be the main couple.   
> Enjoy!

It was a nice, sunny day. One wouldn't think that monsters came out on a sunny day. Then again, the things that went bump in the dark always seemed to find darkness no matter how bright the sun was. John settled to his knees on the rooftop, placing his sniper rifle on the wide lip of the building. He peered into the scope, pointing it in the direction of a dim parking complex, and leaned into the familiar curve at the butt of his gun. The heat of the sun was starting to seep into his black jacket. The agent ignored it, pulling one of the long bullets from a specially stitched slot on his sleeve, and slipped it into the chamber. His hands moved on instinct, loading the rifle with a firm click. He didn't have to look at what he was doing; didn't want to really. His eye was staying in the scope, finding and following the familiar red demon that was perusing the parking complex with the Samaratin drawn. John quirked a smile. Hellboy would never realize how often he was in his liaison's crosshairs. The agent was watching his back on every mission, even when he was far away like today. After his first mission, the demon had been reluctant to take John on another one. Sure, Red had seen him hold his own in Russia, but he still acted like the agent was made of glass. John scoffed at the thought. Just because the supernatural stuff had thrown him at first, didn't mean he was completely weak. He was a 75th Regiment Ranger for fucks sake! He was trained to take on odds that were massively against him. Whatever his past, the demon didn't care. That was why the more dangerous missions always ended up with John watching his charge through his scope. At least Hellboy let him do that much. He was a trained sniper and it felt good to use his skills again.   
John saw Red moving to raise his gun and knew the party was getting started. He leaned into his gun a little more, swiveling a little to get a look at what the demon was shooting at. When he got the thing into view, he nearly jumped. It was big. Bigger than Red, which would have unsettled John if he had to get his short body close to the thing. The thing almost looked like a lion, but it's body was too broad for that. It was standing on its hind legs, face twisted in a malicious snarl. John would have found such a thing scary when he started this job. As it was, he allowed himself a small smirk. The bigger they are... He thought idly. He slipped his free hand up to the communicator in his ear and pressed the button. All at once, he could hear his teammates. It really ruined the calm he felt when he was in his sniper's nest, but he wanted to hear Abe if the sapien gave any hints on their enemy's weak points. Apparently, Hellboy had made a big mistake when he fired at the thing. He had hit some kind of gas pocket and all of them were currently trying to talk without having to take a whiff of the stench. John fought down a smirk. It was hard to sympathize with his friend's plight from all the way up here.  
"Good god, HB! Whatever you do, don't shoot it again!" Liz's voice cut through the clamor. The agent gave a small snort of amusement. "I heard that, John!" She yelled into the com. He tried to wipe the smile from his face.   
"Sorry, Liz. Couldn't help myself." He replied in what he hoped was an even tone. "Anyways, Abe do you have any weak points for me?"   
"Yes, it seems that this creature is a-"  
"You think you're gettin' the kill shot, Boyscout? Nuh-uh. This one's mine." Hellboy cut in. John grinned at the challenge.   
"Sure he is, HB. Maybe I'll just pump a few shots into random places. We can find out how good your aim is when your eyes are watering." He could practically hear the demon grimacing.   
"Myers, if you do that, I swear to god-!" Liz started. Abe, apparently fed up with being ignored, cut her off.   
"I should very much like to finish what I was saying!" All of them grew quiet. The sapien had his indignant voice. They all knew to shut up when he had that voice. He couldn't and wouldn't really hurt them, but whatever he was going to warn them about probably would. "Thank you. As I was saying, this creature is a Sulak. It was a demon often associated with causing strokes or seizures. So if one of you would be so kind as to shoot it in the head?"   
"On it." John replied solemnly. His playful banter with Hellboy aside, he didn't want to let his friends stay in whatever the Sulak was exuding on the off chance that it could hurt them. He took his aim at the thing's head.   
"No way, 'Scout! This is mine!" The red demon growled into the com. The agent smiled calmly, lining his crosshairs with the creature's eye, and fired. He heard the Samaratin go off a second later. He wasn't sure whose bullet would hit first. He had the accuracy, but Red was closer. He kept his eye to the scope, holding his breath.   
Two things happened at once. The first one was the Sulak's head exploding like a party favor. The menacing face flew outward in pieces that looked like macabre jello. The second thing that happened was another bullet opening the beast's stomach. John watched with wide eyes as green ooze burst out of the Sulak. Its skin ripped outward like a water balloon bursting and splattered slime all over the parking complex. The agent brought a hand to his mouth to silence a startled shout, turning his scope to look back at his friends. Everyone, save Hellboy, had escaped the blast of ooze. The demon, on the other hand, was covered from head to toe. It dripped from his body slowly. John could hear it running past Red's com as the sound echoed from the unit in his own ear. The agent bit his bottom lip. He wanted to laugh, but worry overrode the mirth. He didn't know what was in that slime. What if it made the demon sick? Or killed him? No amount of amusing happenstance could be funny if it led to his friend dying.   
"Abe...is he...?" John held his breath as Liz's voice came through the com. The sapien took a long pause that none of them appreciated.   
"There is no need to worry. He is simply covered in the Sulak's stomach contents. It is mildly acidic, but against Red's skin it is not harmful." He finally answered. The agent let out the breath he was holding with a shaky laugh. Hysteria was starting to flow into him with the relief in his system. He heard Liz join in with her soft giggle. The nervousness in her voice matched his own. Then Hellboy seemed to give in and chuckled with them as well. Eventually they were all laughing, well Abe was more snickering quietly than laughing, and they knew it was time to go home.   
John rolled back onto his feet, picking up his rifle. He took it apart steadily, listening to the others get ready to meet the garbage truck, and packed the gun away in its case. The action was smooth. Methodical and calming. He watched as the trembling of his hands left. His heart rate was calming. He had always had an adrenaline rush after sniping, but he had only had trembling hands since working for the BPRD. It didn't happen all the time, fortunately. It only came on when something happened to Hellboy. As much as John didn't want to admit it, every time the normally sturdy demon almost got himself killed, he had a little panic attack. He had always had steady nerves. He had served the minimum of eight years in the military, most of it with the Rangers. He'd had more than enough life threatening experience to fill a PTSD chart, but he had never had a panic attack. Not until Hellboy. The demon affected him in a strange way. As usual, though, the agent pushed those thoughts to the side as he closed his rifle case. He slipped it into a large shopping bag, dropped a set of clothes (complete with sales tags) over the top, and picked up the bag to go back onto the street. He would be meeting the garbage truck one block over, so the rifle case had to be concealed while he walked alongside the civilians.   
John quietly walked down the stairs of the apartment building he had used as a perch. There was an elevator from the top floor down, but he preferred the exercise. The only advantage of the elevator was speed. From the sound of things in his com, he didn't need to worry about that. His team was at street level, discreetly opening a fire hydrant in order to hose down an incredibly slimy Hellboy. The agent allowed himself a smirk, pulling the com out of his ear as he reached the bottom floor. He tucked the ear piece and cord safely inside the inner pocket of his suit jacket, then pushed open the stairwell door. He came out beside a set of mail slots, catching the door in his hand before it swung wide enough to hit a young woman that was checking her mail. The petite blonde spun, blue eyes going wide at him. John offered her a comforting smile as he closed the door. He hadn't meant to scare her after all. He gave a small nod, continuing on his way towards the exit. The girl caught his hand before he could get too far away, causing him to cast his brown eyes back to her.   
"Sorry if I gave you a weird look or whatever! I was just surprised 'cuz nobody ever uses those stairs." She beamed at him brightly, her voice a pleasant mix of Southern drawl and hyper college student. The agent turned slightly, trying to look friendly. He didn't really feel like talking to her, but he had enough training to know that acting normal after an operation meant people were less likely to remember him later.   
"Don't worry about it. I didn't mean to startle you." He glanced down at the hand that still had his in a firm grip. The blonde turned pink and let him go with a giggle.   
"Oops. Haha. So, did you just move in? I think I would've remembered a cutie like you living here." Crap. John wanted to roll his eyes as the girl started flirting with him. He wasn't even the tall-attractive type. Why the hell did he get asked out by girls? He withheld a sigh and flashed her another smile.   
"Nah. I was visiting a friend and we stayed up talking so late that I just slept over. I would've stayed longer, but I've gotta get to work." He gave a little nod at his suit. The girl nodded quickly.   
"I completely get it. My friends and I do that all the time. Well, I won't delay you anymore. Have fun at work!" She gave a chipper wave. The agent waved back slightly, turning out the doors. As he walked away, he got a familiar tingle in his spine that told him something bad was going to happen. A small look back to the girl assured him that she was harmlessly looking over her mail again. John chalked the feeling up to lingering jitters over the mission, along with a bit of the panic attack he had pushed into the back of his mind, and walked away. 

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Hellboy was getting frustrated with his attempted hose down. The water was cold, he'd ended up losing a whole pack of (now soggy) cigars, and Liz kept spraying him in the face. It was payback for the reckless shooting he'd done, but it didn't mean he had to be happy about it. The last globs of ooze were dripping off of him when John returned. His amber eyes shot over to his liaison as he rounded the corner with a shopping bag in his hand. He knew it hid the very dangerous sniper rifle, and hid it well, but it was really hard to hold back his desire to tease the agent about looking like a whipped husband following his shopaholic wife around. The boyscout slipped the bag into a cabinet in the garbage truck, turning around to watch the dripping demon. Hellboy slid off his coat, wringing it out carefully. At least a gallon of water splashed off the thing. He made a mental note to have all of his clothes washed...twice.   
"I hope you realize that it was your bullet that hit the Sulak's stomach." The demon shot his liaison a light glare. He wasn't really mad. He and John had spent over a year developing this playful banter. They both knew when the other was joking, so many of their arguments were just an excuse to tease back and forth.   
"Yeah, yeah, Boyscout. Rub it in." He rumbled. The agent grinned at him.   
"I offered to teach you to aim." He shot back. Hellboy grimaced.   
"I don't need aim. I use big bullets." He gave John a devious smirk. "Y' know, size does matter, 'Scout." The man narrowed his eyes at the obvious dig at his height.   
"Sure, but it doesn't do you any good if you can't hit the mark." The demon laughed at his liaison's indignant look. They were talking about something else entirely now. He caught a glimpse of Liz rolling her eyes as she was setting some equipment in the back of the truck.   
"Oh, I hit the mark, Boyscout. And when I do, they get the full impact." Hellboy lowered his voice a little, pleased with the look that crossed over the agent's face. John looked like he was fighting down a blush, trying to hide it behind a steely mask of professionalism that the kid really couldn't pull off. That look was the reason he loved embarrassing the human.   
"Yeah, well-" John didn't get to finish his statement before Liz cut him off.   
"Boys! Could you please stop this sexual innuendo contest and get in the damn truck? I want a shower before that Sulak stench soaks into my skin instead of just my clothes." She crossed her arms, leveling them with a serious look. John blushed, which made the demon smirk happily, before the two of them slipped into the garbage truck. Abe took a seat in the back, opening one of his books. Liz sat by the door, John on a bench across from her, and Hellboy walked beside the window on the agent's side of the truck. The doors closed, swallowing them into the tiny space before the truck started to move out into the world. The demon watched pedestrians through the one-way window for a few minutes before sliding the metal shutter closed.   
"Has anyone else noticed the increase in our mission load?" Hellboy turned at the sound of the boyscout's voice.   
"Yeah. Who cares? We get t' leave the base an play in the real world for a bit. Don't knock it, Myers." He leaned back against the table in the middle of their space. The agent pursed his lips, looking down at the floor.   
"I'm just saying that maybe it's a sign. What if something bigger is coming?" Abe looked up from his book, dark eyes fixed on the man in interest.   
"An interesting theory, John. Possibly a valid one. The last time we had this elevated case load was when we were dealing with-"  
"Don't remind me." Hellboy cut him off with a low growl. The truck fell silent. None of them really liked thinking about it, but the demon least of all. Grigori Rasputin had been one of the worst things to ever enter into his life. The fanatical worshipper of the Ogdru Jahad had killed his father, temporarily killed Liz, got John and Abe seriously hurt, and made Hellboy say his true name. Even now, he shuddered when that name came into his head. He didn't want to become that ever again.   
"Don't worry about it, HB." He felt John's hand, the flesh cool as it rested on the stone of his arm. "I'm sure it's nothing. I just worry too much." The agent flashed him a smile. Hellboy smiled back slowly. Even though the words were just idle attempts to ease his mind, the boyscout made them convincing. He was good at that. Something in his voice, or maybe in his complete earnestness, was good at calming the demon in even his darkest moments.   
He reached over, right hand resting lightly on the agent's brown locks. When his hand came away, the normally brushed hair was an unruly mess. Hellboy had to hold in a satisfied smirk. He liked John with his hair all mussed. Sex hair. He thought to himself, then pushed the thought out of the way. The agent had no idea the effect that he had on his charge. The demon made it very clear in the beginning that all he ever wanted was Liz. Despite how much he tried to keep John away from her, the demon eventually realized that he wasn't happy when he and the firestarter were a couple. He also found himself more than pleased that his liaison made no attempt to romance her, even after accepting that he was not meant to be with Liz. It only took her three months to figure out why the two of them weren't made for each other. Then she spent another month helping the demon to accept his feelings for the little agent. She had put a lot of care into helping him and it made Hellboy understand what kind of love he had for her. The firestarter was his family. He would always fight for her, but it wasn't because they should be a couple. After Liz spent an entire month sorting his messy feelings (god he hated dealing with them), they had developed a tighter relationship than before. He didn't pursue her like a dog chasing a car and she stayed at the BPRD where her family could rest easier knowing she was safe. And of course, she was also more than happy to try and help Hellboy get closer to one John T. Myers.   
The garbage truck slid to a halt. It wasn't the first time, given the red lights and traffic that the driver had to deal with, so no one moved until the doors started to open. As the view of the garage was uncovered, the four of them slowly moved to get out. John jumped down to the concrete before the doors were fully open. He stretched out, a smile painting his face. Hellboy walked over to his side, raising his tail to poke the agent in the ribs that he'd exposed when he raised his arms. His liaison squeaked in a very un-manly way, bringing a smirk to his charge's face. John shot him a forced glare, a smile hiding at the edge of his lips. Hellboy laughed, intending to start up his teasing again when he saw the agent's eyes slide away from him. He withheld a growl. What could be important enough to take John's attention away from him? He turned to look where his liaison was looking, finding Manning walking towards him. He sighed. Great. Time for his weekly bitch out session. Surprisingly, the yelling never started. Apparently, Manning couldn't yell at him when they hadn't been seen. Who would've guessed? The director made a beeline for Abe, quickly grilling the sapien on everything that he would be reading in a report later that day anyways...well, if he actually bothered to read the reports that landed on his desk at all.   
Liz moved over to the demon's side, giving him a light elbow that he barely felt. "You should go shower. You still stink." She commented with a teasing grin. Hellboy let out a small bark of laughter.   
"I kinda doubt that. You might've turned me off of water for the next month." He shot back. The firestarter fixed him with a grimace.   
"Dear god no." She pleaded sarcastically. John laughed at their banter, giving Hellboy's arm a little pat as he started to walk past him.   
"Give it up, HB. You'd rather get the shower yourself than have her turn the hose on you again." He commented, flashing him a grin. The demon followed his liaison as he moved towards the hall.   
"Oh come on! Where's she gonna find a hose like that in the base?" He waved his flesh hand around aimlessly.   
"I'm sure she could find one. Plus, I might help her. It would be pretty entertaining to see you standing in that mess you call a room all wet and spluttering...you'd look like one of your cats after a bath." The agent lowered his head in a snicker. Hellboy narrowed his eyes at him.   
"You wouldn't dare..." He growled deeply.   
"Hey, you'd do it to me, given the opportunity!" John pointed out. The demon couldn't really combat that one. The idea passed through his mind of his liaison soaked to the bone. Clothes clinging to his thin frame, almost translucent from the water, and showing off every line of his slim chest. He had to fight down the urge to lick his lips at the thought of the boyscout like that. He'd have to ponder that new fantasy in his alone time.   
"All right, all right. I'll take a shower. Happy?" He gave the agent a little nudge, watching him take an extra step to avoid stumbling. He had to hand it to the kid. He had gotten used to Hellboy's over abundance of strength quicker than anyone else ever had. He was able to anticipate the effect of a too-hard bump or nudge and righted himself without even looking like it was any trouble. He'd been wrong in the beginning when he assumed that John was just a newbie. The agent found his feet incredibly fast. He was adaptable and, when he got used to his surroundings, he was as effective as any BPRD veteran.   
"Yes. Although, are you planning to do it in my room? Cuz I think my shower is a little small for you." Hellboy blinked, only then noticing that he had followed the boyscout to his room. The agent was standing next to his door with a slight smile on his face. He shot the kid a sheepish smile back.   
"Heh. Oops. Guess I wasn't paying attention." He raised his hand to give a parting wave. "I'll head to my room. You're bringing nachos with dinner right?" The demon pointed one stone finger at his liaison with a mock-serious face. John laughed and gave him an exaggerated salute.  
"You got it, Red." He smiled. Hellboy grinned, nodding to him before leaving with a wave. He walked away, tail swaying behind him happily. 

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John couldn't help watching the red demon as he sauntered off down the hall. His eyes were fixed on the swaying tail. The agent could remember the first time that he started obsessing over that tail. The demon, in the midst of convincing his liaison to hang out and watch movies, had wrapped his tail around John's thigh. The agent barely managed to get away from that encounter before he embarrassed himself, but after that it was rather hard for him to view that tail in the same way. More than once, he'd woken up from dreams about it being used for various perverted acts. Those were days he made a point of not looking at his friend in order to retain what little there was left of his dignity. Thankfully the demon seemed not to notice.   
John waited until Hellboy was out of sight before turning into his room. He stepped into the spartanly furnished living quarters, shut the door behind him, and leaned back against the cool metal with a heavy sigh. The agent found himself slowly slipping down the door. His hands were shaking again. Even though he had gotten all the way back to the base calmly, he had been suppressing the remainder of his earlier panic attack in his head. Now that he was alone, his heart was seizing painfully. John curled his knees into his chest, wrapping his arms around them tightly. His head kept going back to the moment when he thought Hellboy might be covered in something dangerous. The sight of the green slime became humorous, but the thought that the demon could die refused to listen to facts. The agent laid his head in the valley between his knees, trying hard to keep his breathing deep even though he was starting to hyperventilate. Damn it! What was wrong with him? He'd been in his fair share of combat situations. He shouldn't lose his cool like this.   
He reached down to his calf, rolling up his pants leg to free the long combat knife sheathed there. John raised the blade to his eyes, looking into the reflection at them. On closer inspection, his eyes barely qualified as brown. There were really too many colors in them to chose any one in specific. There were greens, golds, and burgundys mixed into the dark brown backdrop, each color getting a little lighter the closer it was to his pupil. Perhaps hazel was a more acurate description of his eyes, but he'd always said they were brown. No real reason to change that now. The close inspection he gave himself seemed to pull him up from the anxiety he had been drowning it. He slowly slipped the knife away, laying his head back against the door. Relief was starting to wash over him. His heart continued to pound too loudly for another minute before he got it under control. The agent waited out the feeling before he bothered to get up, idly thinking that if he didn't get over these panic attacks he might end up using the knife for something less innocent next time. He had enough problems without resorting to self harm. He sighed heavily. He needed a shower. He wasn't really dirty. He just really needed the relaxation of hot water.   
John pushed himself up, moving into his bathroom. He kicked off his shoes, pulled his jacket down his arms, and started unbuttoning his white shirt. The clothes began to pool on the floor by his feet. He was normally rather fastidious. Usually he folded the clothes as he took them off, setting them into a laundry basket to be done. Today he didn't care. He dropped his pants and boxers into the pile of clothes and turned on the shower. The bathroom rang with the rattle of water spraying over the shower floor. Drops of cool water pelted his arm as he withdrew it. He pulled the light blue curtain closed and got inside. The water quickly flattened his hair down to his head, smoothing the rumpled waves where Hellboy's hand had mussed it. The water started to warm, giving a nice massage to his stiff muscles. Each drop pelted his skin, just hard enough to sink in, and a pleased sigh left his mouth. The tension eased away slowly and he found himself lost in his thoughts again. Despite his better judgement, his mind drifted to Hellboy.   
The demon occupied a large portion of his thoughts when he wasn't keeping himself distracted enough. Times like this, when he was unable to focus on something constructive, his mind easily drifted to Hellboy. He had long since become John's best friend, and while the agent was still trying to bury his feelings for the demon as deeply as possible, he couldn't help staying close to him. Even if he was only a friend, the agent wanted to be someone important to Hellboy. Admiration mixed with respect when it came to their working relationship. His humor, protective streak, and shocking moments of kindness had all lured John into getting closer to him almost immediately. Overwhelming attraction, though, was supposed to remain locked in the back of his mind. John wasn't willing to give in to it when it could cost him the demon's friendship.   
Of course, that didn't stop his mind from drifting into the things that it really shouldn't. Things like Hellboy soaking wet from being sprayed with the hose. His black shirt was clinging tightly to the demon's sculpted chest, showing off every line dipping down his body. As soon of the thought entered into his mind, his lower body began to stir. John laid his head back on the cool tile of the shower with a groan of frustration. Whenever he felt the heat building in his groin the agent couldn't help feeling incredibly guilty. He didn't want to masturbate to his friend, already feeling bad enough that his body wanted someone who was very obviously straight and not about to have any similar feelings for him. Frustrated with himself, he knew exactly what he had to do. The agent reached forward, turning the water to the coldest setting. He winced at the icy wave that washed over him. It prickled on his skin like needles. The water stopped at his skin, but the cold seeping into his bones. Soon he was reduced to a shivering mess, easing his erection while causing the rest of his body to thoroughly hate him. He turned the water off, stepping out onto the bath mat, and wrapped a towel around his shaking form. The stiff material was a small comfort as he tried to return his skin to room temperature.  
There was a knock on the door to his room, followed by Liz's voice calling his name. Her voice was too loud for her to be outside. He didn't mind that she'd let herself in. He'd mentioned to her before that if he didn't lock it then he didn't care if she came in. Usually, he locked the door on instinct, but at the BPRD they were all like family. He welcomed his friends into his room when he could. The agent quickly toweled himself off, tying the cloth around his hips. He opened the bathroom door, shooting her a smile. "Hey. I just finished a shower and I forgot to take my clean clothes with me, so you'd better close your eyes if you don't want a show." He joked. The firestarter quirked her lips at him before delicately raising her hands over her eyes. As John walked across the room to his locker, he got the feeling that she was peeking. It made him laugh to himself. She wasn't interested in him, nor he in her, so her peeking was just an action done to be funny. The agent pulled on jeans and a t-shirt before turning back to her. "Okay. All covered." He chuckled. Liz lowered her hands, smiling broadly at him.   
"Why, John Myers, you certainly know how to offend a lady's sensibilities." She teased. He ran a hand back through his wet hair, grinning sheepishly.   
"Sorry 'bout that, ma'am. Don't get too many guests round here of the female persuasion." He replied, trying to adopt a John Wayne impression. The woman laughed, leaning over to put a hand on his shoulder.   
"Oh my god! You have got to show that to Red!" John's eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly. Hellboy was a big John Wayne fan, as one could guess from the number of westerns that he had suckered John into marathoning with him.   
"No way! HB would never let me live it down if he thought I insulted the Duke!" Liz's laughter increased and she doubled over, gripping the agent's slim shoulder through his t-shirt. It took her a minute to calm down and straighten, still fighting the smirk on her face. John decided he had to change the subject before she descended into another fit of giggles.   
"So, you have something you wanted to talk about?" He raised an eyebrow at her. She smothered another smile.  
"Yeah, I..." Liz's eyes went down to her hand. "Jeez, John. Why are you so cold?" The agent hid a flinch. He did NOT want to talk to Liz about why he needed a cold shower.   
"Uh, hot water wasn't working. Must have had a valve get shut off during maintenance or something. I'll call about it later." He bluffed quickly. Her dark eyes came up to scrutinize him seriously for a moment, giving him the feeling he was about to the 'masturbation will make you go blind' talk. He'd had that told to him by a Sunday school teacher once. His Uncle Thad told him on the way home that the woman was well intentioned, but full of shit.   
"I don't know why you even bothered with the shower if the water was that cold. I would have gotten out quick. You're completely frozen!" She withdrew the hand from his shoulder. "Here. Let me..." Liz kept her hands far enough away to be safe and lit them on fire; holding them out around the sides of John's body to warm him. The agent gave a pleased hum as warmth spread over him.   
"Thanks." He flashed her a smile. The firestarter put out her hands and grinned back.  
"No problem. Anyways, I came to ask if you could spare a little time to go out to the store with me? I need to get some film for my camera from that shop we found." John nodded slowly. He knew the shop she meant. They had gone exploring one day when Liz was feeling too cooped up and ended up finding an art shop. The agent, ever a man with a watchful eye, had a soft spot for art of all kinds. He found himself buying a sketchbook at the shop, although he hadn't drawn since his military days.  
"Sure. I needed some good colored pencils anyhow." He moved back to his locker to grab a light jacket. He slipped his shoulder holster on before pulling the jacket onto his arms fluidly. Liz beamed at him.   
"Great! Let's go!"

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Hellboy was on his third shower. He was sure he was clean, but the smell of that Sulak-thing wouldn't quite disappear. He grumbled to himself, turning the hot water to the highest setting. Liz said he smelled bad. If she could smell it, then there wasn't a doubt that John could. He didn't want to smell bad around John. He was still trying to pick out a good moment to test the waters with the agent. They had been working together long enough now that the demon ought to know if his liaison would be attracted to him, but so far he hadn't gotten a read on him. He was tempted to ask Abe, even though he knew that the sapien would just give him a 'not my thoughts to tell' dismissal. All he needed was a little sign! Why did the boyscout have to keep up that damn impenetrable wall? The only things John ever mentioned about himself were stories about his Uncle Thad and growing up in Kansas City (with all mentions of him having a boyfriend/girlfriend carefully excluded). Sometimes, Hellboy wondered if the version of himself that John showed the world was just a snapshot of himself from his high school years. He knew the agent had been in the military for eight years, but that wasn't something that he ever talked about. In fact, he often avoided the topic if anyone asked. It wasn't hard to guess that those hadn't been easy years. The demon turned off the shower, along with his thoughts about the boyscout, and stepped out to dry himself off. He toweled off his body like normal, then wrapped the towel around his tail and slid it through to wipe off the rest of the water before using his tail to drop the used towel into a hamper.   
He was pulling on a clean pair of leather pants when someone knocked on the vault door. Hellboy gave a bit of a grimace, zipping his pants, and walked over to open it. Clay was standing there, hand raised to knock again. The demon smiled slightly. Of all the agents, Clay was one of the few he liked. Not as much as Myers, but Clay was at least reliable and fun to tease. "What's up?" He leaned against the door frame to observe the man.   
"Abe wants to talk to you. He wanted the whole team, but Liz and Myers ran out to town before he asked." The agent motioned off towards John's room dismissively. Hellboy chuckled. Now that he wasn't fawning over Liz anymore, he was able to appreciate the friendship that she had with his liaison. They were like...girl-friends? Well, if John were gay then... He shut down the thoughts that were going through his head. If he bothered to continue on that path, he might come up with something to say to Myers that seemed funny and ended up insulting. Better to just not start.   
"Library?" Hellboy asked, realizing that the agent was staring at him for a response.   
"Autopsy. He found something from the thing you guys caught." Clay pulled a disgusted face. "Just warning you, the whole room smells awful." The demon sighed.   
"And when I just got outta the shower..." The man in front of him laughed, turning to head down the hall.   
"I don't envy you. Luckily, I only have to deal with papers for the rest of the day." He waved without looking back. Hellboy grimaced, then turned to grab a black shirt, slipping it on as he walked out towards the autopsy room. 

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John had gone to this store with Liz so many times that he knew the floorplan by heart (baring any changes made by the owners). The two of them were like kids in a toy store, constantly finding new items to play with. The firestarter might have said she needed film, but they both knew that each of them was going to walk away with more. Or that was how things normally went. Today, on the other hand, John was focused on something else. He was feeling the tingle of warning in his spine again and found it difficult to appreciate the store he usually loved.   
He had started feeling it when they got back to the town. At first, he thought maybe the anxiety from the mission had crept back up on him now that they were in the area again. When his worries about Hellboy covered in monster goo failed to surface, he knew that wasn't it. He didn't get the tingling in his spine idly. It was a subconscious response to danger that part of him had noticed, even if he didn't know it yet. If it wasn't lingering worry for the demon who had somehow started giving him panic attacks, then something had to be wrong. This was his body's shit's-gonna-hit-the-fan warning and he'd be stupid not to heed it.  
He decided not to mention anything to Liz. She was looking so giddy about going to the art shop that he felt a twinge of guilt that he couldn't let his instincts die for one simple day. Then again, he had instincts for a reason. If he could keep his team safe, that was what he was going to do. He waited until they were in the shop, Liz sufficiently distracted, before letting his body drop into mission-mode. His breathing became soft and even, eyes finding the window at the store front and skating over every surface. He didn't stare too long into shadows. It was when people stared that they missed things. Sweeping over everything with his eyes would let him catch any movement. Then he could focus. His ears were tuned in to everything, hearing every step Liz took around the store. The manager didn't move from beside the cash register, which was a blessing to him. He had less things in motion to track that way. People walked past the window on the street outside, none of them paying attention to him. If anyone made eye contact, they looked away just as quickly. He was starting to doubt his own gut feeling when he caught a glimpse of something on the rooftop across the street. Something with a red tail.   
John let out a small sigh of relief. He didn't know why Hellboy was following them, but at least that was all he had to worry about. If the demon was around, any real danger would be less likely to attack. And if he had been sensing his charge and nothing else, then everything was fine. A smile broke through his lips at a devious thought. He was happy that Hellboy was here to ease his instincts, but it could also be fun to go tease him about his terrible stealth skills. He turned his head in the direction Liz was standing, her back to him as she looked over a few photography books, and moved to her side. "Hey, I'm gonna run across the street real quick. Saw something interesting. I'll be right back." She nodded without looking up, making the agent chuckle as he turned to the door.   
He waited until the traffic slowed before jogging to the other side of the street. Slipping into an alley, he walked around to the back side of the buildings. If he tilted his head up enough, he could just make out the figure sitting on the room. "Hellboy!" John kept his voice as quiet as possible while still catching the demon's attention. The figure shifted, glanced over the edge, then moved to climb down to him. Watching a big, red demon swinging down the side of a building was just one of the many perks of the BPRD. He might've been a fierce opponent, but to his friends this was just silly to watch. When he was close enough, Hellboy dropped to the ground with a loud thus. The agent smirked at him. "Graceful landing there, big guy." He teased. The demon turned around, casting him a grin.   
"At least I can land on my feet from that height." He shot back. John rolled his eyes at him exaggeratedly.   
"Yeah, yeah. Big powerful demon. So what are you doing here? You know stalking is a crime, right? One of these days, Liz is gonna give you a restraining order." He raised an eyebrow at him. Hellboy fixed him with a saccharine scowl.   
"Hey, it's not my fault you left. I needed to talk to you and then you and Liz just decide to pop out to the art store." He waved with his flesh hand absently. John tilted his head slightly, leaning back against the wall behind him with his arms crossed over his stomach loosely.   
"Ah. Yeah, Liz's idea. What'd you need?" He smiled at his charge kindly. In all honesty, he was glad that Hellboy had followed because of him instead of Liz. The warm fuzzies were rising in his chest to be quickly tamped down by self control. Hellboy fixed him with a serious stare, wearing an unreadable expression.  
"You." The demon growled his reply, taking the agent by surprise. John fought not to let his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates and settled for raising an eyebrow at him.   
"What are you talking about, HB?" He was seriously hoping that his voice was level. All kinds of answers his charge might give were running through his head. Most of the 'lovey' or 'sexy' responses were shoved away, but the thought of them was still making heat pool in his groin. John prayed his jeans wouldn't show what his traitorous mind was doing.   
"I need you, John." The agent felt his heart misfire, leaving an almost painful absence before it came back twice as loud. Hellboy stepped closer, pinning his liaison's smaller body to the wall with a hand on either side of him. Had the man wanted to escape, there was no way to do so. Not that he wanted to.   
"If...If this is a joke, it's not funny, Red." John stated warningly. His jaw was set in a hard line, teeth barely parting when he spoke. His entire body was statue still, as tense as he'd ever been. The demon leaned down, locking eyes with the agent.   
"It's no joke." His voice rumbled. John stared up into the eyes of his charge. The one he wanted so desperately. The one he'd always told himself he couldn't have...  
"Move away or I'll shoot you in the belly." He gritted the words out through his teeth, hand quickly pulling out the Glock in his shoulder holster to point it at the demon's stomach. Shock and hurt swept over the demon's face as he took a step back. John raised his gun, locking his arms as he stepped to the side. He stared his charge down with an angry gaze. "Now just who the hell are you?" He growled, hoping the sound was as intimidating as when Hellboy did it. Wide eyes stared back at him.   
"John, I-"  
"Don't call me that! Now who the fuck are you?" He snapped. The demon straightened, pulling his shoulders back as he rose to his full height. The stance was normally menacing. Today, it only made John glare in frustration.  
"John, I'm losing my patience. Put the gun down." The agent scowled.   
"Then call me by my nickname." He watched a flicker of confusion pass over the demon's face. "Yeah. I didn't think so. Now who are you?" He kept his gun aimed at the head of what looked very much like Hellboy, but definitely wasn't. It took a moment before the figure shimmered and shifted, body shrinking into a female form. A blonde, blue eyed young woman smiled at him. John tensed as he remembered the girl from that morning. She had been in the apartment complex. Granted, she looked much more normal then than she did now. Now she was wearing a low cut dress that looked like it was made for Jessica Rabbit, feature accentuating make-up, and sported both wings and a long tail like Hellboy's.  
"You're such a spoil sport. It takes more than a handshake for me to read that much information in even your mind, human." She gave a pouting expression, sticking out her bright red painted lips at him. John's fingers tightened on his gun. He wasn't in the mood for conversation with her this time around.   
"Answer my damn question." He ordered. His arms were starting to ache lightly. The agent ignored the sensation, knowing from experience that he could stand like this all week if he had to. The girl tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder with a huff.   
"I'm Abby. I'm a succubus. And just so you know, I would've given you the best sex of your life if you hadn't gotten all pissy." She drawled, Southern accent thicker on her words than before. John felt a muscle twitch in his jaw.   
"Not likely. After-glow is kinda shit when you've just had your soul eaten." He watched a frown start to cover her pretty face; a look that seemed alien for her. She probably didn't get caught by her food too often.   
"Why would you care about after-glow? Sex with Anung un Rama should be good enough for a human like you." Abby stuck her tongue out at him childishly. The agent rolled his eyes. Were all demon's just immature children with adult bodies and a high dose of teenage-grade sexual fixations?  
"First off, Hellboy hates that name. Second, if you were going to try and make me think you were him then you ought to spend a little more effort on the disguise. You got his eyes all wrong." John felt a little smug that he had noticed. Especially when his brain had been trying to think about other things at the time. Abby narrowed her eyes at him, then broke into a smile.  
"Oh, I get it. You're in love with Anung un Rama." She flashed a pair of sharp fangs as her lips drew back. The agent felt a chill run down his spine. For some reason, it felt like her knowing that was extremely dangerous.   
"No."  
"Don't bother to lie to me, human. I can tell these things." She took a step closer to him, making John retreat a step.   
"Stay where you are." He commanded. She giggled delicately. The sound was incredibly eerie. The agent's eyes stayed fixed on her.   
"I wonder if he loves you back, John. Perhaps you are the key to unlocking the Right Hand of Doom." He flinched at her words as memories of Hellboy turning into Anung un Rama surfaced in his mind. Even though the demon loved her at the time, he had said his true name to save Liz. John wasn't completely certain, but had the sinking suspicion he would do the same thing for any of his friends. The agent had to hope that his charge wouldn't do it again because of him. He'd rather die than know that Hellboy was lost somewhere inside that demon...the version of himself that showed no recognition or light inside.  
"He doesn't look at me like that." John answered sternly. Abby smiled.  
"We shall see." Her form began to change again, smoothing and growing slightly until she became a mirror image of the agent. He stared at the succubus, horrified to see himself. Worry filled him at the thought of the damage she could to to his team with his form.  
"I won't let you." He adjusted his aim to his doppelganger's head. The succubus simply smiled with his face. The agent felt like he was looking in a fun-house mirror, except that it was distorting his personality instead of his appearance.   
"It's not like you have a choice, John." She said with his voice. The agent opened his mouth to speak, finger tightening on the trigger, then something hard hit him in the back of the head. He fell to the ground, feeling scratches open on his arms from the impact. John tried to look behind him, falling to his side as the world spun. His eyes blurred, bringing back the fun-house mirror feeling again. A shadowed figure loomed over him. Despite being hard to make out with his swimming vision, John felt something ominous about his attacker. It turned its head towards Abby.   
"Infiltrate the BPRD. We will give him the collar to keep him quiet in case we need him again." The deep, hissing voice seemed to echo in the agent's ears.   
"We will not need him, Master. It will be easy to seduce Anung un Rama and take away the soul those pathetic humans caused to grow inside him. Our king will return and open the gates of Hell." Abby's answer came out in the agent's voice again. John's sight was growing dark around the edges. Every time he blinked, it felt longer.   
"We shall be prepared for the worst, but you should be more than enough. Consume the soul they call Hellboy and release Anung un Rama immediately. This world has already lost its charm." The agent felt bile rising in his mouth. He had to do something. Had to stop this. John tried to push himself up. His head rang at the action, then everything went black. 

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"So what's the deal, Abe? I thought I was done having this thing ruin my sense of smell." Hellboy griped as he stepped into the autopsy room. His sapien friend tilted his head slightly.   
"There was something about our deceased friend that I thought would interest you. Should we wait for Liz and John?" He set down a scalpel on the metal tray beside him.   
"Nah. They went inta' town." Hellboy leaned back against a cabinet, only slightly surprised when it shifted under his weight.   
"Oh! I see. Then we shall procede." Abe waved a hand over the corpse he had spread on the metal table. It was hard to tell that the thing was the same monster that they'd dealt with earlier that day. Its body seemed to have shrunk massively after its stomach exploded. The face was impossible to find, thanks to the boyscout's bullet. Hellboy could still see a few fangs, but even those were hanging loosely from the remaining busted jaw.   
"So what was so important?" He grunted. He was tempted to take out a cigar. It would smell a heck of a lot better than the creature on the table. Then again, he had no idea if the thing might still be giving off gases, let alone whether or not said gases could be flammable.   
"I discovered something strange with our friend here. I had found myself wondering earlier. Why did the Sulak, for all of its ferocity, not attempt to attack us in the parking complex? Then, when I started to examine it, I found this." The sapien moved to shift the creature's destroyed head. Around its neck was a band of black with glowing red symbols carved into it. Hellboy frowned.   
"It had a collar?" He raised his amber gaze to Abe's dark eyes. His friend nodded slowly.   
"Yes. I researched the symbols on the collar and found something fascinating." He turned, picking up a leather-bound book. "Apparently, the collar on our deceased was able to control its mind. Activating it caused the creature's conscious mind to retreat into its own head. Particularly into its memories of dangerous situations. Deactivating the collar would let it return to awareness; where it would be highly steeped in the fight or flight instincts. It could have been placed upon the Sulak for safe transport, but that would not explain why the collar was still active when we arrived on the scene. It is almost as if-"  
"Someone was setting us up..." Hellboy felt a cold weight drop into his stomach. John's comment about their increased work load came back to him. Was something bigger coming? Were they being played with again, just like with Rasputin?   
"Red." The demon blinked, focusing back in on his friend. The sapien's face was hard to read, but he'd known him long enough to tell that Abe had a grim expression. "I think we should talk to the others as soon as possible...and perhaps notify Manning." Hellboy cursed under his breath. Whenever they had to tell Manning something was coming, the director tried to micromanage every damn thing they did. It wasn't really a helpful trait when things were getting rough.   
"I'll leave telling Manning to you, Blue."   
"That would be wise." The demon sighed and ran his flesh hand over his face.   
"Do you think..." He frowned around the words, wishing he hadn't thought them.   
"Do not worry about Liz and John, Red. They will return soon. Even if something were to happen, there is nothing you could do from here." The sapien responded calmly. His even tone usually put Hellboy at ease. This time it didn't.   
"If something does-"  
"Red." Abe cut him off, surprising the demon with his serious tone. "You'll make yourself sick worrying." Hellboy sighed heavily.   
"Yeah...guess you're right."

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John groaned as he opened his eyes. His head ached horribly, like someone had filled it with broken glass and used it as a drink shaker. He'd had headaches like this before. When Rasputin's Nazi girlfriend, Ilsa, had cracked him in the head with a mallet. Then for about three weeks afterwards. This reminder wasn't pleasant. He squinted in the darkness, thankful at least for the lack of light, until he saw the form of something sitting a few yards away. Upon seeing the agent's head move, the shadow rose. It was tall. Taller than Hellboy. John tried to push to his feet, only to find that his hands were tied behind him, attached to a pipe of some sort. The shadow moved closer until the agent could smell it. The scent of blood and death wafted from the being in front of him, powerful enough to make him gag. The gagging wasn't eased when his captor looped something leather around his neck and tightened it. He sucked in air through his teeth, feeling the pressure stop just short of strangulation around his throat. The shadow moved away, something that the agent greatly appreciated, and sat back down.   
"Enjoy your trip, human." John swallowed, trying to place the deep voice. Another word was spoken, this one in a hissing, gutteral language that the agent didn't know. He opened his mouth to question his captor, then felt his entire body go limp. His head lolled to the side, laying on his shoulder. He felt completely boneless. As his body refused to follow his commands, his mind began to follow suit. He no longer saw the world around him. He was somewhere else. A sense of deja vu hit him, but the world hadn't even come back into focus yet. The agent couldn't remember where he was.   
He couldn't remember closing his eyes, but he wished he hadn't opened them again. He didn't want to be back here. This place was something from his nightmares. A sight that he'd relegated to the past. John leaned into the butt of his rifle, laying on his belly on the warm rock. He was watching the area, scanning for anyone approaching the road block where the rest of his team were situated. The light colored camo gear was doing nothing to keep him cool as the sun beat down on him. The agent, then a Ranger, was listening intently to the voices playing over his radio. The device was sitting beside his elbow, acting more like a distraction than equipment. He was listening to the voices going back and forth. Most of them were from the planes and helicopters that were participating in the mission. They were rescuing hostages. Americans that were being held captive in Iran. Operation Eagle Claw, the mission had been titled. John tried not to wonder if the higher ups could be spending more time on peace treaties than coming up with these stupid mission names. The thoughts wouldn't do him any good out here.  
"Hey, Boyscout. Ain't this a dull location? Nothin' but sand and rocks for miles." John nearly jumped out of his skin, eyes shooting to the left to see his bright red demon friend sitting on the boulder he was using as cover.   
"What the-Hellboy get down!" He hissed, motioning for him to lay on the ground beside him. The demon gave him an incredulous stare.   
"Nobody can see me, 'cept you, 'Scout. I wasn't really here, remember?" He answered, his tone making it clear that he thought this was the most obvious thing in the world. John stared at him, trying vainly to process the information.   
"How are you here now?!" He kept his voice low, even though he wasn't entirely sure why. He couldn't jeopardize a mission that was already long completed.   
"I'm not. It's just yer head tryin' to get you awake." Hellboy pulled a can of beer from somewhere in his coat, popping the tab to open it. "You gotta get home, Myers." John sighed and rolled onto his back to look up at him better.   
"If my subconscious knows I need to wake up, how come I need you popping up in my memories? Why can't I just wake up?" He rubbed a hand over his face.  
"Like I'd know." Hellboy snorted and took a long drink from the can. The agent sighed heavily, slowly sitting up.   
"Gimme a drink. I could use it." He held out his hand for the beer. The demon chuckled, passing it to him.   
"You know it won't get ya' drunk." He took the can back after John took a long drink. The agent shrugged and moved to sit on the rock beside him.   
"Yeah, but I'd rather be drinking with you than living in this shitty memory." He motioned off to the road block. His fellow Rangers were still going about business as usual, unaware that their sniper was sitting in the open with a demon. Hellboy cocked his head slightly, tail twitching like a cat's.   
"What's so shit about it? It ain't that bad, besides the crappy scenery and the heat." He took another drink. John nudged him to pass the can back and took a drought of the bitter liquid. Even though he felt like he was still in the hot desert, the can was cool like it had come from a refrigerator.   
"Well, for one, the mission failed. We didn't save the hostages and spent an entire day baking in the desert." He pulled a knee up to his chest and leaned into it, letting his other leg dangle off the rock.   
"Ouch. That sucks." The demon grimaced sympathetically. John smiled at the action until he reminded himself that it was his own mind fabricating Hellboy's attitude. He lowered his head with a slow exhale. What he wouldn't give to be spending time with his demon charge instead of hanging out with a fake in his own head. "Hey! Watch who you're callin' fake, Boyscout!" The agent looked up, eyes wide.   
"You're reading my thoughts?"  
"I am one of yer thoughts, 'Scout." Hellboy raised a brow at him. "And I ain't fake. You know how I act... well, enough t' predict what I'd say." John looked up at him, meeting his eyes and silently hoping that was true. It wasn't. He knew the instant he saw them that the amber was too dull.   
"I can't even get your eyes right..." He sighed, relaxing against the warm arm beside him. The demon raised his right hand to muss the agent's hair.   
"They're close enough." He rumbled. The man sighed.   
"You're too nice too..." He pushed away to stone hand in his hair, feeling a wave of sadness sweep over him. He missed him. He had a replica at his side and it still couldn't stop the ache in his chest. "Hellboy, I love you." He whispered.   
There was a long period of silence before the familiar form he was leaning against dissapeared. John fell back hard, cracking his head on the rock. He held back a curse, raising his hand to rub his head tenderly. He found himself staying that way, eyes closed and hand behind his head. He could hear the memory playing around him like some kind of movie re-run, but he didn't care. He had seen it. It didn't end well for him. Again, he was missing Hellboy. Not for the first time, the agent told himself that he ought to keep his feelings for the demon to himself. Having him disappear from his mind was one thing. If he lost him in real life...   
John sighed and opened his eyes. He heard the radio calling them to retreat. It was time. He sat up, sliding to the ground slowly, and got back into his position. Maybe Hellboy would return during the next part of his memories. That might help alleviate the pain. The agent inhaled deeply and put his eye back to his scope. Immediately, hands grabbed him, pulling him backwards. He was lifted, a hand pressed to his mouth, and carried by several strong men back over the rocky ridge to a jeep out of sight of his team. John fought to get his legs beneath him, trying to gain some leverage to fight. He couldn't manage it before feeling the prick of a needle in his neck. It was a sedative. He didn't have to wait for it to kick in to find that out. He closed his eyes, slumping into the arms holding him a little earlier than he had in reality. Darkness enveloped him again and he was gone; hoping he would see his charge when he woke. Even if it wasn't the real one.

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Hellboy met Liz and John at the elevator. He hadn't meant to. It was just that he couldn't stop himself from worrying. He'd ended up pacing at the elevator, talking to himself while his tail whipped the air behind him. When the sound of the elevator coming down started, he froze midstep. He looked up, seeing a glimpse of the two on the platform. All at once, he felt his breath coming back to him, only then realizing that he'd been holding it. Liz saw him when the platform got halfway down, shooting him a look of confusion and worry. The demon wasn't sure what he was going to say when they got to him. Wasn't sure if he would be easing her worries or confirming them. The platform slid and locked into place with a resounding bang. John finally noticed him, shooting him a happy smile. Hellboy felt a little thrill in his stomach at the sight, grinning back at him. It was hard to stay worried when his liaison looked at him like that. As per usual, the agent was able to calm his mind without any effort.   
"What's going on, Red?" Liz stepped off of the platform, walking towards him with John trailing behind. The demon turned his gaze to her.   
"Abe found something with the Sulak. We need to have a meeting once he's done telling Manning." He informed them. John's eyes widened a little, then returned to normal. He lowered his head. Hellboy cast a look at his liaison worriedly. It was unusual for the agent to look like that. He almost looked...scared? "You okay, Boyscout?" He didn't look up. "Myers?" Brown eyes raised up to the demon's face.   
"Oh, ah...sorry. I didn't notice you were talking to me." He flashed a nervous smile. Hellboy raised a brow.   
"You know anyone else 'round here that I call Boyscout?" He smirked at the blush that washed over the liaison's cheeks.   
"Ha ha. Yeah. I'm just a little out of sorts, Red." He reached back to rub his neck lightly. The demon raised his flesh hand to mess up the agent's hair.   
"Don't worry 'bout it, kid." He looked back at Liz. "Anyhow, Abe's gonna call us once he's done with Manning. We might have...eh, Manning never shuts up so prolly an hour." The firestarter rolled her eyes with a smile.   
"I'll be in my room then. I've got stuff to play with." She raised the plastic bag in her hand happily. Hellboy chuckled, watching her go. He turned back at the feeling of John's cool hand on his arm.   
"Um...Red, could I...talk to you? In your room?" The agent asked shyly. The demon's mind shot off in every direction, supplementing scenarios for why he could be asking. Most of them were perverted. He swallowed, mouth going dry.   
"Sure, 'Scout." He jerked his head towards the library door. "Let's go."   
John was completely silent during the walk to his room. Whatever he was planning to tell his charge, he was plenty embarrassed about it. Hellboy couldn't keep himself from hoping that it was a confession, despite the small voice of reason in his head telling him John would never confess to someone. He was both too shy and too serious. The demon opened the vault door to his room, motioning his liaison in wordlessly. John slipped inside, eyes on the floor. He moved into the middle of the room, fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt. Hellboy had to try rather hard to keep his mind on the present instead of appraising his liaison in the tight jeans, jacket, and almost-but-not-quite-thin-enough-to-see-through shirt. He closed the vault door behind him, watching the agent quietly. John finally turned to look at him, brown eyes giving him a puppy dog look that was deadly. Or at least, deadly to the demon who was currently facing them.  
"Hellboy...I..." The liaison's voice broke, hands twisting the bottom of his shirt. "I want you to promise you won't laugh at me." He said shyly. The demon raised a brow at him.   
"Okay... I won't laugh. What's goin' on, 'Scout?" He leaned back against the vault door. He wanted to stay in front of the door on the off chance that the boyscout chickened out and tried to run. John swallowed, looking anywhere except at him.   
"I...I'm in love with you..." The words were so soft at first that Hellboy wasn't entirely convinced he'd heard them. It took him a long moment to be certain that the agent had spoken before he replied.   
"Say that again, Boyscout." The demon straightened, moving off of the door to walk closer to him. The agent blushed darkly, color painting its way up to his ears.   
"I....love you, Red." He mumbled quickly, lowering his head. Hellboy felt the air leave his chest in a rush, a torrent of thoughts making him lightheaded. He grinned, putting his left hand beneath the liaison's chin and tilting it up. John's eyes were glossy, as if he were an inch away from crying. The demon leaned in, placing kisses over each eye.   
"Love you too, John." His voice came out in a husky rumble. All of his hopes were coming true at once. Waves of possessiveness and joy were assailing him. The agent raised his arms, looping them as far as he could around the tall demon's shoulders. Hellboy hooked his stone arm around the man's waist, holding him tightly as they crossed the space between them to meet each other's lips.   
Nothing... The demon drew back slowly, a frown on his face. He felt nothing from the kiss. The effort was there in droves, but no emotion. His liaison opened his eyes, blinking at him in confusion. He pulled away from John's grip, sweeping a look over him. What was going on? He knew how much he cared for John. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that the kid didn't seem...real. He felt like a dream. The kind of dream that was nice for a while, then left him wishing he hadn't bothered dreaming when what he really wanted was reality.   
"Red?" His liaison's voice was raw with hurt. The demon tried not to wince. He didn't want to hurt the agent. There was just something off about him. He swept his eyes over the man's face, observing him carefully. Maybe he was sick, or just off his game? Something didn't fit. Then his eyes caught it.  
"Scout...what happened t' the scar on yer chin?" He brought his eyes back up to John's. The agent flinched, then tried to mask the expression quickly.   
"I used an ointment to make it less noticeable." Hellboy's eyes narrowed at the obvious lie coming from him now. Whatever was going on, the man in front of him was shaken enough to let on that he was lying. He narrowed his eyes at him.   
"What the fuck's goin' on here, Myers?" He growled. Part of his mind conjured up the idea that perhaps John was having a laugh at him. Maybe he'd realized his charge's affection for him and decided to have some fun at his expense. The demon pushed that aside. John wasn't that cruel. Or that foolish. And that still didn't explain the missing scar.   
"Hellboy it's just a scar! It faded! Who cares?" The agent moved towards him, raising his hands to put them on the demon's broad chest. Hellboy stepped back, giving another warning growl from deep in his throat.   
"Don't touch me. I want the truth. Now." He kept his tone dark. It wasn't that he wanted to scare John. Far from it. It was just that, at the moment, he wasn't even sure the person in front of him was really John.  
"Red..." The voice came out as a whine. Hellboy's tail twitched agitatedly.   
"Scout...what's the name of the movie we watched Saturday?" He stared the man down. He wasn't sure how the one in front of him could be anyone other than his liason. Still, the way that the kid was acting didn't fit how he normally was. The agent's eyes widened and he fidgeted with his shirt again.   
"Hellboy, why-"  
"Answer me, John." He snapped. The liason's shoulders slumped.   
"What the hell is with you people? Does everyone know all the details about each other around here?" A new voice whined out of John's mouth. Hellboy's heart seized. He reached over to his belt, currently draped over a chair, and grabbed the Samaratin.   
"Who the fuck are you?" He snarled. The form that he had been appreciating as John started to shift. It melted strangely, re-forming into that of a blonde girl. Her demon wings and tail unfolded from her back slowly. She curtsied cheerfully.  
"Name's Abby. Nice to finally meet you, Anung un Rama." She smiled, voice malicious around a Southern accent. Hellboy cocked the Samaratin, aiming at her head.   
"Where's John?" He bit out through clenched teeth. The woman laughed.   
"My Master is taking care of him. Are you sure I can't suffice?" She asked seductively. The demon glared at her, a wave of disgust swelling in his chest. This demonic bitch was completely nuts if she thought she was on the same level as John.   
"Dead sure. Now tell me where 'Scout is!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

John came to in a dirty looking room. His body felt heavy. He was hoping that dealing with his memories might not hurt as much as the real thing. It seemed like his hopes were unfulfilled. He sighed, laying his head back. The first time around, he had canvased the room. He walked around, looking over every surface. Now he wouldn't bother. He was going to be in here a while. When his captors finally came to get him, he would try to fight. It wouldn't work and he'd end up getting water-boarded. The agent felt anxiety rise in his chest, but pushed it aside the way he had the first time he'd lived through this. If he had to deal with this all over again, then maybe he could at least get a little rest this time around.  
"So this is kinda boring, ain't it 'Scout?" He looked up at Hellboy, who was now leaning against the wall beside him. He found himself smiling softly.   
"Yeah. You bring beer again? Seems like we might need it." He asked lightly. His mood was greatly improved having the demon around, even this facsimile of him. His charge slid down the wall to sit beside him.   
"Yeah. Here." He pulled out an unopened can, handing it to him. John pulled back the tab, feeling a spray of foam well out over his fingers without looking. Hellboy opened another can for himself. The two drank in silence for a moment. John wished for the comfort of home. Usually if he were sitting next to the demon, drinking or no, they could watch tv to pass the time or he could put his attention onto one of the many wandering cats. Here it was just silence, cold beer, and a version of his charge that could only have conversations that John could imagine. After he'd vanished before, the agent was fairly certain that anything he said where he couldn't picture the demon's answer would end their time together. Unfortunately, since he was trapped in memories that he wanted desperately to escape, most of the topics he could think of were ones that would likely make his friend vanish again.   
"God, I wish we had tvs..." John groaned, laying his head back against the wall. A rumbling chuckle sounded from beside him.   
"It's easier than talkin'." Hellboy commented, echoing the man's thoughts. He found himself nodding, staring at the droplets of beer caught in the indent of the can's metal rim.   
"I can't think of anything worth saying." He said finally, raising his beer to his lips to take another drink. Beside him, he heard the demon do the same.   
"Then be quiet. Don't need t' talk. Just sit an' drink." The agent smiled faintly, shifting a little closer to his charge's warmth. It was comforting, even though he feared to actually lean on him again. Now that he was so aware that the wrong thing could banish his companion, he couldn't bring himself to get too close. It was almost funny how he worried the same way about the real Hellboy.   
"The next part's gonna hurt, HB..." He commented aimlessly, taking a longer drink from his can. The demon set his down.   
"It doesn't have to, Boyscout. Wake up." John sighed at the sound of his nickname from him. He wanted to wake up. It wasn't like he wanted to be here.   
"I don't know how..." He heard the tinge of a whine in his voice.  
"Just open your eyes, Myers." Hellboy's deep voice fell into his ears, bringing with it the sting of tears behind his eyes. The agent dropped his can, letting it spill out on the floor.   
"Damnitt, I don't know how, Red! Tell me how and I will!" John brought his head up to glare at the demon in frustration, eyes glassy with the tears he was holding back. Hellboy was gone. Even their beer cans dissapeared. The agent buried his head in his knees, closing his eyes tightly. His heart ached hard, tears breaking past his control to crawl slowly down his cheeks. They felt hot, like blood. He would have preferred that they were. He hated crying. He hadn't done it when he was held captive the first time, but then again, he hadn't been trapped in memories like this. Trapped to prevent him from warning his team that a succubus was going to try and jump start the apocalypse. John took a deep breath and hoped. Every thought became swallowed up in his one sincere hope; that Hellboy would not become Anung un Rama again. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hellboy tossed the succubus, Abby, into a chair in the meeting room. The shocked stares from the other three occupants did nothing to calm his anger. The blonde recovered quickly and pulled up a knee onto her seat. She looked around at each of them, then smiled towards Manning seductively. The demon snarled, gripping the arms of her chair, and spun her to look directly at him. "Abe, come find out what this bitch knows." He kept his eyes locked on the pretty blues of the succubus as the sapien rose to his feet.   
"Would you care to enlighten us all as to why before I do?" He asked calmly. Hellboy suppressed the urge to shout at him to do as he was told. He wasn't angry with Abe. Yelling at him would be out of line.   
"This...." He fought not to use the word 'bitch' again. "...woman is a succubus. She shifted into looking like John and came back with Liz. 'Scout's out there somewhere and she's keepin' her trap shut." He growled. Liz straightened in her chair, eyes going wide.   
"What?!" Hellboy raised his amber eyes to the firestarter.   
"John's been taken." He watched emotions flit across Liz's face. Shock, horror, guilt, then shame. He grimaced. "It's not your fault, Liz. She had me fooled at first too." Abe walked to the succubus' side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Abby raised her eyes to him, grinning wickedly.   
"Oooh. What cool hands you have." She flirted. The sapien gave what sounded like a disgusted laugh, turning his gaze back to Hellboy.   
"John is in the parking complex where we fought the Sulak. He's with something... stronger than this demon." He removed his hand, ignoring the look of shock blooming over Abby's face.   
"What?! How did you read me?! BASTARD!" She screamed. Her face distorted into a long, triangular shape. Blue eyes turned into black holes. Then, as if remembering a need for calm, she returned to the human looking face with a little smile. "Ehem. I mean... go right ahead. I am certain that my Master will appreciate the company." Liz jumped to her feet, putting a hand on Abe's arm.   
"Could you tell if John's...is he okay?" She asked in a hushed voice full of worry. The sapien laid a hand over hers reassuringly.   
"He is incapacitated, but unharmed save for a minor bump on the head." Hellboy felt a knot of tension in his back releasing. He hadn't noticed it until the relief kicked in, but now he could tell that his body was rigid as a board.   
"Let's go." He turned towards the door. Manning moved into his way, causing a swell of anger to rise in the demon. He had enough problems with the director without him getting between them and John.   
"Wait! You can't leave her in here! If she's a succubus, then she's gotta be locked up away from any of the agents." Hellboy gritted his teeth. He hated when Manning was right.   
"Fine. We'll take her to a cell. Get the truck around." He turned back, using his stone hand to grab the back of Abby's neck. The succubus squealed and protested, shoving at his hand with all her strength. She was stronger than a human. Not strong enough though. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

John was thrown roughly back into his room. The agent rolled with the momentum, coming up onto his hands an knees. He heard the door lock behind him, but he couldn't care less as he proceeded to cough hoarsely. Water splashed out of his mouth onto the floor. When his lungs were finally clear, he let himself lean against the wall and slide down. He laid prone on the floor, catching his breath. It took him a few minutes to calm himself. Water was still dripping from his hair onto the floor, running down his face like icy tears. His stomach decided to pipe up as soon as his heart stopped pounding in his ears, demanding food despite having ingested more than enough water to make him sick. John rubbed his stomach gently. They wouldn't feed him. He remembered that much. It had been five days of torture. He was only on day two. He wouldn't be eating anything until the six day, when his team came for him and dragged his broken body to chopper. Then it was a short flight to a friendly camp, three hours of medics examining him like their first med school cadaver, and an hour debriefing before they finally let him stumble to the mess tent to grab some food. He couldn't really remember what he'd had to eat that day, but he remembered that it hadn't tasted very good when it came back up twenty minutes later.  
"Gross, Boyscout. Stop thinkin' about that an' have a slice of pizza already." He opened his eyes to see the demon sitting beside his head, leaning against the wall. He was holding out a pizza box to the agent with a grin. John groaned again and shook his head. His body might have wanted food, but the rest of him just wanted a nap. "Come on, 'Scout. Have a slice with me." A red tail snaked under his head and poked into his nose. He grunted, then a poke too close to his eye got him to sit up.   
"HB, come on! I want a nap." He complained. Hellboy simply raised an eyebrow at him.   
"But there's pizza, Myers." He set the box on his liaison's lap. John sighed heavily, opening the box. The pizza inside was plain pepperoni. It was the only thing they normally agreed on when they got pizza together. The agent smiled to himself. This was something Hellboy really would do. The demon always seemed to know when he was having a rough day. He was pretty good at grabbing his liaison for a pepperoni pizza and some beer when that happened. John slowly pulled a piece of pizza out of the box and took a bite. It tasted like heaven. Despite this being a memory, albeit a warped one, his hunger felt as real as any he'd had before. The pizza was quenching it quite nicely.   
"Thanks, Red." He turned to give the demon a smile.   
"No problem." The agent's thoughts began to drift as he chewed. If he didn't say anything stupid, would Hellboy stick around for the next part of his memory? He almost wanted him to. The third day had been one of the worst. It was when his captors had the interrogator with the scar over his lip. The man was ruthless with John. He'd put so many cuts on the agent's body; so many inside of the agent's mouth that he thought he was going to drown in his own blood. Even now, the thought of it made John run his tongue over the scars on the roof of his mouth. They weren't the only scars from the third day, but they were the most painful. Luckily, his captors chose to have someone else interrogate him after that. Apparently, they weren't a fan of the mouth cutting since it made it hard for the agent to speak clearly.   
"Hey, Red?" He lowered the pizza he'd been about to take a bite of. The demon turned his eyes to him, raising a brow. "Will you stay? I'll try not to say anything dumb this time." He looked away. A warm hand ruffled his hair.   
"Course I'll stay, Boyscout."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Throwing the succubus in a cell had been torture. Every instinct in Hellboy's blood screamed for him to ditch the whiney girl and go after his liaison. He couldn't stop the horrible pictures running through his mind. Abe had said that John was just unconscious. Still, that was from what the succubus knew. By this point, some monsterous demon could be cutting up the little agent. Hellboy shuddered at the thought. John's body was so tiny. The thought of him being hurt was painful. It almost seemed like the agent wouldn't have much blood in his body to spare. He was too small to go up against some monster, especially when he was alone and probably unarmed. The demon's blood boiled as he imagined his liaison so helpless.  
When they got to the garbage truck, Manning tried to do a quick briefing. The director quickly realized that he was better off waiting for them to return when Hellboy growled for him to 'either shut up or get in the goddamned truck'. The team loaded onto the truck without further delay. Abe immediately went to his books, trying to puzzle out what the demon was that he had seen in the succubus' head. Hellboy checked and re-checked the bullets in the Samaratin, then opened the case to Big Baby. Liz's eyes tracked his movements, lips pursing at the sight of his second gun. At the moment, they had no idea what they were up against. That wasn't unusual for them, but even when they had no idea what they were fighting the demon usually made do with Samaratin. He was being extra cautious out of worry for John and she knew it. As he started loading the second gun, the firestarter let her head fall into her hands. The two males beside her traded looks quickly before Abe moved to comfort her. "Liz, it's all right." He murmured. The woman shook her head, black locks swaying around her pale face.   
"No, it's not Abe....If I had just gone across the street with him, this wouldn't have happened." Hellboy snapped the chamber of Big Baby closed and swung the strap on the gun over his shoulder.   
"Or they'd have taken you both and we'd have no clue where." He grunted. Liz raised her dark eyes, brimming with tears, to him.   
"But John...I mean..." She looked at the floor forlornly. The demon shook his head.   
"Give it a rest Liz. There's nothing you could do. He'll tell ya' himself when we get 'im out." His grip tightened around the Samaratin as his mind uttered the silent 'I hope'.   
It seemed to take a lifetime for them to get to the parking complex. Abe wasn't able to find any information on their mystery demon, unfortunately. At that point, however, Hellboy didn't really care. He just wanted John back. They left the truck on the second level, walking onward in hopes that they might have the element of surprise. Abe took the lead, taking the glove from his hand in order to try and sense their enemy. They made it up to the fifth floor before he stopped, his outstretched hand aimed towards the back wall of the structure. He turned his head back to the others, nodding ahead of them. Hellboy took up the lead, holding Samaratin up as his eyes scanned around. He didn't want to let their target have a chance at getting away with his liaison. The demon soon realized that there was no need to worry about their enemy running away. He was waiting for them. The three of them stopped as they got within sight of both the bulky shadow of the enemy and the smaller form of John. The agent's head was down, hands behind his back, presumably bound. A steady rise and fall in his chest told Hellboy that the boyscout was alive. He let out a breath that had been trapped in his chest. John was alive. Everything would be okay as soon as he gave this mystery demon a piece of his mind. And by a piece of his mind, he of course meant a bullet.   
Hellboy raised the Samaratin, pointing towards the large, shadowed shape that sat a little distance from John. He was aiming at what looked like a head, although with the darkness in the parking complex he didn't know if the thing actually had a head to begin with. Maybe its head was on one of its feet. He'd seen stranger things working at the BPRD. His finger tightened on the trigger, breath halting to keep his body steady, just like John had taught him.   
"I would appreciate if you did not do that, Anung un Rama." A deep voice reverberated around the walls. Hellboy narrowed his eyes at the name, setting his jaw tightly. He didn't give a fuck what the demon wanted. Still, he'd heard that kind of line enough times to know that there was a reason to hold his fire.  
"Oh? Why's that?" The shadowed shape rose slowly, becoming taller than the red demon himself. Amber eyes followed the motion. There was something off about the way the thing moved. Abe gave a soft gasp behind him.   
"Because I hold the key to your human's collar." The voice got lower, adopting a hissing quality. Hellboy tensed, eyes darting to John. Only now did he see the glowing red symbols of the collar around the agent's neck. He had a collar just like the Sulak. He was stuck in his mind; unable to wake up from his memories. The demon growled darkly.   
"So I'll shoot you and take it!" He snarled. There was a laugh, something dark and unearthly that sent a shiver from Hellboy's neck to the tip of his tail.   
"How barbaric, Anung un Rama. Wonderful. But I can't let you do that. The key will vanish if I do. And if you want your little human back, then you must open the gate to Hell." Abe moved forwards a little, placing his hand on the demon's arm in a firm grip.   
"Red, this demon is Choronzon. He is the 'Demon of Dispersion'; a temporary personification of the raving and inconsistent forces that occupy the Abyss. Even if you shoot him, he will just dissapate and return to Hell." The sapien whispered. Hellboy grimaced.   
"So what the fuck am I supposed to do, Blue?" He whispered back. His friend gave no reply aside from removing his hand and creating the sound of rustling pages. The demon cursed under his breath. He couldn't do what Choronzon wanted. He wouldn't unlock the gate of Hell. Even if he saved John, the agent would be living in the ruins of the world. After all he'd done to bring Hellboy back from being Anung un Rama before, it would be a betrayal to the boyscout to become that again. The demon was shaking slightly, anger and fear mixing painfully in his chest.   
"Well, Anung un Rama? What will it be?" The hissing voice taunted him. He tightened his hand on the Samaratin.  
"Abe?" He growled. The sapien was flipping pages quickly.   
"I'm not finding anything...I'm still...ah! He will not dissipate unless he's killed. You can shoot him if you do not kill him, Red!" That was all Hellboy needed to hear. He quickly shot, putting four bullets in Choronzon's body. The shadowy demon writhed and hissed, its body starting to uncoil into that of a long snake. Amber eyes followed its head as it rose higher into the air.   
"You foolss! I'll kill you all!" Choronzon lunged at them. Hellboy barely managed to raise his stone fist to block the strike in time as two massive fangs clamped around his wrist. He glared at the snake, lowering the Samaratin to pump his remaining bullets into the thing's gut. It let go of his arm with a scream. Liz walked up to Hellboy's side, hands wreathed in flame and lighting up the darkened parking complex. Light glinted off of their enemy's black scales. Its body was around thirty feet long, each part twisting around in pain from the demon's bullets. Red eyes burned into them, glowing with pain and hate.   
"Give up the key, ya' slithery bastard!" Hellboy snarled, reloading Samaratin with practiced speed.   
"I'll die firsssst!" It hissed. Choronzon's tail whirled around, looping itself tightly around John's limp form. "But what about him?" The tail began to squeeze. Hellboy's eyes went wide and the demon quickly shot for a place on the tail a little distance from his liason. The bullets buried themselves deep, but seemed to have no effect. The tail was tightening further around John. Hellboy had to make a decision. If he continued to shoot at the tail, he might not make it loosen in time to save John, but if he shot the snake's head, then the agent would be trapped in his own mind from the collar.   
His choice was made for him when he heard something inside his liaison cracking. The demon quickly traded guns, leveling Big Baby at Choronzon's head before shooting. The bullets struck their mark, causing a ripple of explosive motion throughout the snake's body. It spasmed and fell to the floor heavily, body sprawled in a heap. The tail grew limp, uncurling from the human that had been trapped in its coils enough to let him spill to the floor. For a brief moment, Hellboy saw a shape on the snake's form near its head. It was a red, glowing key. He started for it, getting almost close enough to grab it when Choronzon's entire body evaporated into black mist, flowing through the fingers of his raised right hand. Hellboy swore. His eyes went to John. Liz and Abe were already at his side, checking his condition. The demon moved slowly to join them. His heart was pounding in his ears, drowning out the heavy thud of his boots on the concrete.  
"Is he...?" His voice was choked in concern. The man looked so pale...like he was dead. Abe looked up, his hand poised over the agent.   
"John is comatose. We cannot remove the collar with him in this state or he will never wake." The sapien said softly. Hellboy looked down to his liaison's white face. The agent was sweating, face contorted in discomfort.   
"Can we bring him out?" Liz whispered, placing a hand on Abe's shoulder. He seemed to think for a long moment, eyes fixed on the collar.   
"There may be a slim chance-"  
"I'll do it." Hellboy cut him off. The two of them stared at each other. The sapien considered his friend's willingness, shifting back to sit on his heels.   
"If you cannot wake him, there is a possibility that both of you will be trapped." He warned gently. The demon slipped Samaratin in his holster and lowered his flesh hand to John's sweat-slicked hair.   
"Abe, I've gotta bring him back." He tried to make every ounce of determination present in his words. This wasn't an idle mission to him. Saving the boyscout was more important to him than anything he'd ever done. He cared too much about his little liaison to lose him. Abe seemed to sense the emotion that the demon wasn't going to say aloud and nodded.   
"Place your hand on his collar...and hope that he listens to you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

John couldn't believe how wrong he'd been. Having his subconcious-produced Hellboy with him while he was tortured made it even worse than the first time. He'd learned to deal with pain. If the demon had made jokes to him while he was getting sliced open, things might have been okay, but it seemed that his mind preferred to show him at his most serious. Every time the blade cut into his flesh, Hellboy winced or hissed. The agent only made it a few minutes before sending him away with a meek whisper of 'I love you'.   
Now he was leaning against the wall again. Everything hurt. His arms, chest, and shoulders were covered with cuts. He was angled slightly, letting the blood dribble out of his mouth from the cuts on the once smooth roof inside and hoping they would clot soon. He was trying to remember what happened on the fourth day of his captivity. It was hard to think at present. Pain was taking precedence, surfacing every time he tried to have a coherent thought for more than a moment. He hadn't thought he'd ever be in this much pain again. After this mission, the worst he'd had to deal with was getting shot in Grenada and a few minor injuries with the BPRD. Funnily enough, the supernatural baddies of the world seemed gentler on him that a bunch of humans. His brain let him keep that thought, which made him sick to his stomach. He had to hope that he didn't puke. Stomach acid in his wounds would really help to the healing process...  
"Jesus Boyscout!" John raised his eyes to Hellboy, who was suddenly standing in front of him. "What the hell happened to you?!" The demon moved down to kneel beside him.   
"Dentist visit gone wrong?" He offered, cringing at the pain that came with speaking. His charge didn't seem amused, eyes sweeping over all of his injuries.   
"You've gotta wake up!" John sighed, blinking weakly at him.   
"You keep saying that..."   
"Huh?" Hellboy looked completely bewildered. The agent tried to wonder why, only to have his complaining mind ache at the effort.   
"I know I gotta wake, but I don't know how...you're my subconscious and you don't know either...so why keep bugging me about it...?" He was panting with the effort of talking. His body hurt so much. John would give almost anything for Hellboy to comfort him right now, but he was pretty sure that fell under the list of 'things psuedo-Red couldn't do because he couldn't imagine it'.   
"John, I'm not yer subconscious." The demon growled.   
"Yes-huh..." The agent managed weakly, too exhausted to come up with anything more mature. "An' if I say the wrong thing, you'll disappear again..."  
"I'm not yer subconscious, 'Scout. Say whatever ya' want, I'm stayin' here til ya' wake up." Hellboy argued back. John frowned. He wasn't used to getting this response from his Hellboy.   
"But I don't wanna be alone yet..." He murmured. Everything was hurting so much. He just wanted the demon to stick around a little longer. A warm hand pressed against his cheek.   
"John, I'm not leavin'." The agent leaned into the touch. This was nice. How was he imagining this?  
"Promise you won't leave if I say the wrong thing?" He relaxed into the hand on his cheek further, every fiber of his being unwinding.   
"I promise, 'Scout." The deep rumble answered. John took a slow breath.   
"I love you, Hellboy." He whispered. The silence that followed his words was almost deafening. The agent feared that the demon had left him once more, despite the warm pressure on his face. He opened his eyes slowly, unable to push them higher than a tiny sliver. His charge was staring at him in shock, amber eyes wide. John stared at his eyes, completely enraptured. The color was perfect, lit from behind with fire and kindness. He smiled, which he knew probably came across as more macabre than it was meant to. "Hey...your eyes are right this time..." Hellboy visibly swallowed, rubbing his thumb over the agent's cheekbone.   
"That's cuz it's really me, Boyscout. And I love you too, so you better wake up already." He leaned in, carefully resting his forehead against his liaison's, trying not to hurt him with the stubs of his horns. "Come back to me, John." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was a loud click and the collar around John's neck fell to the floor. The agent and the demon both took sharp breaths of air, eyes flying open in unison. Hellboy looked at his liason quickly, concern painting his face. John was panting heavily, eyes wide as if still seeing the horrible place he'd been occupying in his mind. The demon raised his flesh hand to the agent's cheek, feeling cold sweat on his skin. His liason blinked quickly, gaze turning towards him. The wide brown eyes were fully dilated, turning almost black with the size of his pupils. Hellboy stroked his calloused thumb over the man's cheekbone tenderly. John shivered under the touch, eyelids fluttering closed until his long lashes fanning out over his cheeks. The demon smiled softly. His liaison; his cute little agent, was leaning so willingly into his hand.   
"Congratulations." Liz's voice nearly made him jump, broadening his focus to the parking complex again. He looked up to her, feeling John do the same. The firestarter was wearing a jacket now, her hair pulled back behind her head in a pony tail. Abe sat beside her, legs crossed, and reading a book. He raised his head to the two of them.   
"It has been a few hours. We called Manning and had the complex roped off with police tape until you two both woke." The sapien marked his page before lowering the book to the floor. "John, may I examine you? I want to be certain that there are no side effects from the collar." Hellboy looked back at the agent. John seemed dazed, still leaning against the wall behind him heavily. The demon realized that sometime over the last few hours Liz or Abe had cut the ropes holding his liaison's arms behind his back.   
"Sure..." The boyscout's mumbled response was nearly silent. Hellboy frowned, turning to give Abe a worried glance. The sapien leaned forwards, placing a hand on John's arm lightly. The agent slid a little along the wall, as if too weak to hold himself upright.   
"Aside from bruising on your ribs, you are not injured. The collar seems to have caused your body to react in unison with the memories you experience. Your body gave the same response to everything in your memories as if they were happening, tensing or flinching, so it may feel as if you have the fatigue of receiving your wounds for a while longer John." Abe told him gently. Hellboy felt his stomach churn as he remembered the cuts all over the boyscout's body. He'd been bleeding from his mouth too, leaving a constant stream of red down his chin. Everything looked like it had hurt pretty badly. No wonder the agent seemed exhausted.   
"It okay to move him?" Hellboy asked softly. The sapien turned his eyes to him, then back to John. After a moment of consideration, he gave a nod. The demon gently slid his stone hand beneath his liaison, scooping him up into his arms. The small body rested against his chest without any resistance, face nestled in the crook of his neck. Hellboy couldn't help the pleased thrill that ran through him at the sensation of his agent's breath on his skin. "Let's go home."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

John took a long time to feel like himself again. Nearly an hour in the garbage truck, with Hellboy holding him on his lap, and then two more hours in the library, still in the demon's careful grasp. The agent hoped that the tired state of his body would mean that his blood was required elsewhere and didn't end up coloring his face. Or move further south. The last thing he needed in this situation was to increase his embarrassment. When he finally started to feel his strength returning, John raised his head from his charge's shoulder. The demon seemed shocked by his sudden movement, turning his head to look at him.   
"You okay?" His arms stayed circled around the agent. John nodded slowly, looking at the armchair they were seated in for a place to brace his hand while he got up.   
"Yeah. Sorry I took so long to move..." He rasped quietly, his voice hoarse from screaming during his torture, despite the noise having only been in his head. As he tried to push himself to his feet, Hellboy shifted his right arm slightly, causing his liaison to sink further onto his lap.   
"You don't have t' move." The demon's fingers curled beneath the agent's thigh. John decided that his body must be recovering quite well as blood rushed to both his face and groin at once. He was thankful that the two of them were alone in the room; Abe and Liz having taken the task of debriefing Manning.  
"H-ha...well you probably don't want me sitting on your lap all day, HB. It'll cut off circulation." He answered nervously. The demon narrowed his eyes at the agent, looking at him sternly. John got the feeling that he'd said something wrong, but he couldn't figure out what.   
"John." A shiver went up his spine at the low rumble.   
"Y-yeah?" He looked away, feeling heat in his cheeks again.   
"You remember what ya' said when I came t' get ya?" John felt Hellboy's tail curling around his knee. He turned his eyes to the prehensile appendage, searching for any way to answer that meant he wouldn't have to discuss this with his charge. His secret had been exposed to the demon. Had his feelings really been returned or was Hellboy just saying they were in order to wake him? "Boyscout." He demon's flesh hand moved under his chin, tilting his head up. Amber eyes stared at him. He met the gaze for a second before looking away sheepishly.   
"I...I'm sorry..." He murmured weakly. As much as he hoped that his love wasn't one-sided, it was hard for him to believe otherwise. He could only apologize in hopes of salvaging their friendship.   
Hellboy frowned at him. "You've gotta be kiddin' me." He gave the man's jaw a little squeeze, causing him to raise his eyes back to the heated amber.   
"I-I'm so sorry, HB! I'll keep my mouth shut, okay? I..." His voice broke. He was too tired to hold back the emotions threatening to boil over inside him. Tears were glazing over his brown eyes. "I know you're...probably disgusted with me..." John bit back a sob as his chest constricted in a dull ache of humiliation and sadness.   
"Shut up, Boyscout." The demon's hand slid up to his cheek, rubbing his thumb along the bone reverently. The agent jolted in shock. His eyes widened, mouth opening to speak uncertainly.   
"I..." Hellboy shook his head with a sigh.   
"An' people say I'm thick." He leaned forward, catching his liaison's lips in a kiss. John gasped, his brain going blank with the hot pressure at his mouth. His wide eyes fell closed as the heat consumed him. The kiss was chaste and warm, but it stirred things in him that the agent had never felt before. He raised a shaky hand to the demon's shoulder, fingers curling around the cloth of his shirt. Hellboy smirked against his lips before drawing back. "Get it yet, 'Scout?" He rumbled deeply. John opened his eyes reluctantly. His chest heaved with a shuddering breath.   
"Wh...why'd you stop?" He mumbled. The demon laughed, running his hand down the side of the man's neck. John nearly tilted his head back as the combination of heat and his charge's touch sent sparks of fire through his veins.   
"You've got somethin' to say t' me, Boyscout." The agent bit his bottom lip to hold back a whimper.   
"Tease..." He fixed his charge with a pouting look, receiving only another smirk. "Fine... but I resent having to say it first..." He fidgeted slightly. "I...I love you, Hellboy." The demon swiftly lowered his head to kiss his liaison again, tilting his head to get closer. John brought a hand up to the back of his charge's head to hold him close. Hellboy inched back despite the agent's insistent grasp.   
"I love you too, John." The man gave a little gasp as his heart fluttered. The sound seemed to have a bigger effect than he expected when the demon growled against his lips. "We should go t' my room..." John smothered an impatient noise in his throat. Hellboy chuckled. "You're s'pposed to be the modest one, 'Scout. Come on. You don't want Abe walkin' in, right?" The agent blushed, lowering his head.   
"O-oh...right." He mentally scolded himself. What kind of idiot was he; doing something like that in the library?! Hellboy gave a gentle nip to his jaw, making John emit a very unmanly squeak, and picked him up as he got to his feet.   
"Boyscout." The agent tilted his head up to look at him as the demon moved towards his room. His ego was trapped too deeply in his brain to protest about being carried bridal style at the moment and he was more than happy in his charge's arms.   
"Hmm...?" He traced his fingers over the clothed chest that he was pressed close to. Hellboy squeezed him gently.   
"I've been waitin' for this a while..." He tilted his head down to kiss him lightly as he hurried through the hall to his room. "So, if you're game, we'll be makin' up for lost time tonight." John felt his groin tighten at the words and bit his lip to hold in a moan. He fisted a hand in the demon's shirt.   
"More than okay with me." He managed to breathe out eventually. His charge reached the vault door, throwing it open and stepping inside before closing them off in his room. They made no effort to lock the door from the inside. Anyone that bothered them wouldn't be likely to stay long with the knowledge of the demon's temper to chase them away.   
Hellboy let the agent slide down to his feet, practically purring when John pressed his body close. The man immediately slid his hands up under the black shirt that blocked his access to the muscled chest he was facing. He had wanted to touch those solid planes of muscle for ages, but before it would have been inappropriate. Now he could relish in the hot skin beneath his hands. Hellboy stripped away his liaison's jacket, causing the wandering hands to pause their exploration, and let it fall to the floor. John was still wearing the tight shirt and jeans that the succubus had imitated. The jeans hugged the shapely curve of the agent's ass, clinging to his slim thighs, and his shirt showed off the contours of his lithe body. The demon drank in the sight of him languidly. It was so much better now that it was the real thing. Hellboy's black shirt was tugged up until he took the hint to strip it away. He tossed the offending material aside as cool fingers returned to their caressing over his chest. The man's touch was reverent over his skin, mapping the lines of his muscles dedicatedly while they shifted beneath his hands. The demon pulled his little liaison back for long enough to strip away his t-shirt. It might have been tight enough to show the figure beneath, but the revealed ivory skin was too beautiful to miss. John blushed when it came away, raising his brown eyes to his charge in embarrassment. His charge smirked, nudging him back towards the bed. He raked his eyes over the silky, white flesh that he had exposed possessively, noting the scars that remained from bloodied wounds he'd seen in John's memories. Somehow the light ridges of scar tissue only made him more tantalizing; more real. The agent's back hit the edge of the bed, stopping him. It was too high for him to simply fall onto. He was about to jump up when he found himself lifted by a strong, stone hand until he sat on the mattress.  
Hellboy started to nip and kiss down his liaison's neck, savoring the taste that was salty and sweet at the same time. A taste that was so distinctly John. He made certain to leave marks, announcing to the world that the boyscout was his now by way of hickeys that would blossom out over his flesh before the next morning. His mouth moved down, littering the light skin with love bites and licking away the sting with a lap of his hot tongue. John writhed beneath his ministrations, hands occupied with wandering over his lover's arms and chest. His head was spinning from the electric sparks of pleasure that spread outward at each touch he received. His jeans were becoming too tight. Faintly, he wondered if he would regret the lack of boxers later, since he was sure the zipper was leaving an imprint on his cock. The demon didn't give him much time to think about it clearly as he turned his attention to one of the hardened nubs on his liason's chest, drawing a tentative lick over it. The agent arched up into him with a groan at the sensation on the sensitive skin. Hellboy smirked at the sound, giving the nub a playful nip as he raised his hand to brush the other softly. Spikes of pleasure shot from them straight to John's constrained cock, a cry leaving his mouth and his hips jerking as he got impossibly harder. His roaming hands drifted down to the demon's pants. He knew he had to even the odds before his charge managed to chase all of his mental capacity away. Especially if he didn't want to embarrass himself before they even got started.   
His fingers found the significant bulge in Hellboy's pants, drifting over it slowly. A low growl rewarded his efforts, along with a light nip to his collarbone. The agent smirked happily, increasing the pressure as he rubbed over him. The demon gave him a shock when he stepped back. Amber eyes peered at him hungrily, making the man flush with heat. John was unable to stop a lascivious moan that slipped past his parted lips, unconsciously parting his legs for his partner. Hellboy gave an appreciative growl, reaching down to flick open his liaison's pants. The man gasped when the pressure was released and his erection hit the cool air. The demon slid his jeans off, hands caressing the pliable thighs as he passed over them. The agent whimpered at the feeling of the soft denim pressing into his skin beneath his charge's hands. The jeans were discarded to the side, quickly followed by Hellboy's leather pants. John lifted himself onto his elbows, wanting to see all of the sight he had been unable to imagine until now. The demon's skin was amazing. The crimson flesh had always been resistant to damage, but was still somewhat textured from the years of fighting. The rippling muscle beneath it was something out of a magazine; too perfect to be real. The agent realized that he was licking his lips when his eyes drifted to his charge's lower body and blushed darkly. Hellboy was big. Granted, that should have been what he expected, but seeing it before him was far different from a logical assumption.   
The demon moved closer, leaning down to capture his liaison's mouth in another heated kiss. Mouths opened by instinct, tongues tangling in an intricate battle. The agent whimpered as his lover's tongue pressed into his mouth, exploring slowly. The hot touch slid through slowly, as if trying to memorize him as thoroughly inside as outside, then ran over the roof of his mouth. John yelped and bucked his hips when the tongue stimulated the still-tender scars there. Hellboy drew back slowly, nipping his bottom lip. His intense gaze was fixed on the man as he hovered over him. "Your scars are sensitive?" He rumbled softly. The agent felt his cheeks suffuse in heat again, looking away. His charge narrowed his eyes, leaning down to locate a line of scars that trailed over his pale shoulders. The demon dipped his head to lick along the line, then sucked at it softly. His liaison let out the filthiest moan he had ever heard, sending sensation right to his rigid cock. "Fuck, Boyscout, you're so goddamn hot." He tilted his head to lick down a long scar that ran the length of the agent's chest.   
John's body jerked as he tried to fight down the building tension in his hips. He'd never realized that his scars were tender spots, but now he was wondering if he could fight off the impending orgasm. He reached out desperately, wrapping his hand around his charge's cock. The demon bucked his hips in surprise, thrusting against his palm. The agent quickly started rubbing over his length, paying attention to every reaction he caused. Hellboy nipped at one of his scars, making him arch up from the bed. His stroking faltered. His body was too receptive. He needed more. NOW! "Red... ah... just f... fuck me..." He whined, bringing his legs up to circle the body above him. His quivering thighs held tightly as he tried to pull the demon closer.  
Hellboy chuckled. "You know I can't, 'Scout. You'll get hurt if I fuck you raw." He rumbled into the man's ear before giving it a playful nip. His tail whipped the air behind him as he reached up past his liaison to remove a tube of lubricant from beneath the pillows. John whimpered and arched up beneath him. Their hardened lengths brushed together. Both moaned at the delicious friction and the demon had to fight with himself to keep from ravishing the man beneath him that instant. He flicked open the tube and raised his tail to spread a line of the gel over it. A few swipes of his flesh hand coated the entire tail before he lowered it to his lover's entrance.   
John tilted his head back with a breathless groan when the tail pressed against him gently. The tight ring of muscle protested as it was spread open. Hellboy's tail was thick. Not as thick as his cock, but still thicker than anything the agent had ever had inside him before. His muscles tensed and burned slightly from the penetration. His hands found the demon's shoulders, gripping tightly as he hauled him back down for a kiss. He parted his lips on contact, darting his tongue out to entice his partner's hotter one into his mouth before sucking on it. Hellboy groaned, licking his scars again. The agent's body relaxed with the sizzle of electricity that followed, allowing the tail inside him to move slowly. It pumped inside of him, moving deeper with every thrust. Before long, it pressed into the man's prostate, causing him to shout wordlessly. He clutched his charge close, grinding his hips upwards. He was quickly losing himself in the pleasure. Tension was building in his hips again, begging to be released. The tail inside him rubbed leisurely over his prostate as its owner drew back to suck at one of the scars on his shoulder teasingly. The tension inside him snapped at the dual sensations. John came with a yell as his body spasmed, painting his chest with his release.   
Hellboy smirked as he leaned back to observe his panting liaison. The agent was letting out little puffs of air, eyes half-lidded as he trembled with the aftershocks of his orgasm. He traced his flesh hand down over his lover's torso, letting his fingers drift over the scars. Most were lines; he fought not to remember them as the fresh cuts from the boyscout's memory, but there was one circular scar on his hip. A bullet wound. He shifted to kiss the scar tenderly, holding himself above the agent's body with his stone hand. John inhaled sharply, curling his legs around the demon's hips to pull him back up.   
"HB... c'mon... I want... to make you cum too..." He breathed. Hellboy kissed him lovingly, picking up the lube again.   
"So impatient. We got all night, 'Scout." He chuckled. The demon spread lubricant over his straining cock, thrusting slightly into his hand before he aligned himself with his liaison's entrance. "You sure you're ready for this?" He murmured, pushing against him gently. John moved a hand up to grip his hair, not as tightly as he could have luckily, and looked into his eyes seriously.   
"Fuck... me... now!" He hissed. Hellboy grinned at him, pressing inside. He moved slowly, stopping when the tip passed the agent's entrance to give him a moment to adjust. The legs around his hips urged him onward. He continued the slow thrust until he was fully seated inside of the man beneath him. John was gasping for breath, mouth hanging open. The demon stilled, though it was incredibly hard to resist the urge that begged him to thrust hard and fast into the hot tightness of his liaison. His flesh hand drifted down to stroke the man's rapidly hardening cock. The agent moaned, tightening briefly before his body began to relax again. Hellboy smiled when his lover finally opened up for him, leaning down to kiss him again. John rolled his hips when he was ready, encouraging his charge to move. Hellboy drew back, pushing inside at a tortuously slow pace. His liaison squirmed as his prostate was brushed, cock already back to full mast. He broke from the kiss to gasp for air. "O-oh... gods! Hellboy faster!" He pleaded. His demon smirked, pulling back to snap his hips into the agent quickly. John cried out, body arching again. Every thrust became faster, pummeling into his willing body. They crashed together, trading moans and kisses. John moaned in delight at being completely filled. His body felt whole with his charge's heat reaching deep inside of him. He was writhing in ecstasy, never wanting it to end even as he was quickly spiraling out of control.   
Hellboy squeezed his lover's length gently as his voice reached a higher pitch, knowing he was close. He increased his thrusts to a punishing speed, angling to hit the agent's prostate with every move. John's body tightened and he gasped, clinging to the demon above him as if he were his only grip on reality as he came. His body clamped down on his lover to bring him over the edge with him. Hellboy buried his face in his liaison's neck and bit down as he gave his final thrust into the tightening channel. The two of them groaned in unison.  
It took several moments for both of them to relax again. The demon tenderly licked the mark on his human's neck. John shivered, tilting his neck to give him more access. "That... feels so weird..." He mumbled. Tiredness was starting to wash over him. Hellboy chuckled, shifting to lay beside him and pulling the human his warm embrace.  
"You're marked now, boyscout." He nuzzled the agent's hair, reveling in the softness. Myers slid a hand up to his neck, feeling the fresh wound there. It was a crescent shape, already clotting. He 'hmm-ed' and curled into the chest in front of him.   
"What's that mean?" He closed his eyes, starting to get overwhelmed by the urge to sleep. His charge smiled, wrapping his tail around John's leg.   
"Means you're mine." The demon growled possessively. The human felt a thrill in his stomach, slipping his arms around Hellboy.   
"I like the sound of that." 

 

The End


End file.
